Research

The Department of Surgery and its divisions are involved in collaborative research efforts throughout the Texas Medical Center.

Trauma Research Center

The Trauma Research Center is a multi-institutional, multidisciplinary research unit supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the United States' National Institutes of Health (NIH) It is in its seventh year of operation, and currently involves the research efforts of basic and clinical scientists at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston and The University of Texas, and the University of Texas-MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. The Center's major focus is to elucidate the role of the gut in the pathogenesis of multisystem organ failure.

Immunosuppression

The Division of Immunology & Organ Transplantation has played a vital role in the development of more effective immunosuppressive agents. The Division, was the first to administer rapamycin to man in clinical trials of the drug in human renal transplantation and subsequently applied the Combination Index mathematical model to document synergy in man.